There’s this current line of thinking that entrepreneurs, including small law firm owners, should automate and outsource everything they can.  And oftentimes, that even extends to household chores.  As your income begins to increase, it becomes easier to hire someone to mow your lawn.  Or, to clean your house.  Or, to polish your Arabian horses’ saddles.  (Maybe that last one is just me.).  But, while all of this does tend to increase your efficiency — or, rather: your potential to be efficient — it does not represent a purely humane, or wholesome, lifestyle.

Truly effective business people tend to be less caricature and more genuine person.  Coming off as a real person, which effect is buttressed by actually being a real human in your personal life, is essential to business pursuits, at a number of levels.  In the first instance, people tend to be more likely to do business with, to send referrals to, other people they like.  If you’re not a droid sent to this plant to work constantly, to the exclusion of most everything else, you stand a far better chance of fitting that bill.  This will also allow you to better connect with your existing clients, who, in many cases, will work less than you do, and will have little idea what it actually entails to ‘be a lawyer’.  Since lawyers are advocates, it is important for you to be able to understand and leverage the emotional impact of your client’s story.  A brief is a piece of paper, but you make it resonate by fully engaging the human impact of what you’re writing.  You don’t garner skills in the realm of emotional intelligence by staring at a computer screen all day.

It’s easy to feel abnormal as a small law firm business manager, to feel like you’re missing out on the time and space that everyone else seems to have.  So, do something about it.  Schedule time to work out.  Shut off your phone.  Watch television for a half hour in a vegetative state.  Take a nap.  Fold the laundry.  Mow the damn lawn.

Realize that there is more to life than running your business, and stop making excuses for why you can’t take a weekend off, or go on vacation.  Nobody’s that busy.  What you may be surprised to learn, when you get back, is that you didn’t actually miss all that much work, and that the world did not stop spinning just because you stepped away from your desk.  And, perhaps, that’s what lawyers are afraid to discover: that their own self-importance may be derived from their view of the world, and not the world’s view of them.  Think, however, of the freedom that the truth of that statement might afford you.

Liner Notes

Let’s talk about the true value of doing real things . . .

‘Cleaning Windows’ by Van Morrison

Tell ‘em, Van.

_____

Now, for a quick quiz – if you answer ‘yes’ to the following questions, you’ve been working too hard:

-Did you eat lunch less than three times this week?

-Is the average time you shower after 10:30 am?

-Has your child asked you if you’re listening to him today?

-Do you have a headache right now?

-Is the ass-print on the couch yours?

Now, you may be thinking: ‘That seems odd, I always figured that one of the best parts of being an entrepreneur was the ability to stay creative, to keep improving’.  Yeah, I thought that, too.  But, I still run into lots of solo lawyers and small firm managers who hug the status quo like their best thunder buddy.  ‘Yeah but this works’, is what they tell me.  Sure, it probably does work.  If you’re diligent, you can manage your finances using Excel spreadsheets: granted.  But, the question should not be ‘Does it work’; the question should always be ‘How can I get this to work better’.  How do you become continually more efficient?  How do you constantly improve?

What those lawyers are really saying is that they are comfortable with their current systems, and that they don’t want to change.  They don’t explicitly say that because they understand that comfort is not a viable excuse.  Running a business, in fact, represents a consistent state of discomfort.  You’re always worried about the next client, the next project — and, that drives you forward.

Process and systems improvement should be at the forefront of every business manager’s mind.  It is a never-ending obligation, and one that should be undertaken, even if it sometimes drives you out of your comfort zone.

Consider the competitive disadvantage that you place yourself under when you don’t accept the burden of improvement.  Sure, you can continue to manage your finances using Excel, rather than through an accounting program or a law practice management system.  Riding chariots into battle in ancient Egypt was pretty sweet; but, if a military commander today decided that that he was comfortable using chariots in battle . . . well, your country just got dusted by Lichtenstein’s army.  Just because you can use a chariot, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t opt for a tank — even if you have to take some time to learn how to drive it.

If you don’t place yourself out of your comfort zone, to regularly improve your business systems, you’re playing with chariots of fire.

. . .

Liner Notes

‘To Be Without You’ by Ryan Adams

Ryan Adams took his foot off the gas a bit, got a little less prolific, and produced a gem of an album, in ‘Prisoner’.

This is my favorite track; but, you should listen to the whole album.

I mean, you can never get enough Ryan Adams.